Chapter 40
“Chief, this is Mark,” he said when he heard Fred pick up the phone. He had arrived at the Hyatt a half hour earlier. He had dropped his shoulder bag on the bed, and had rushed into the shower. He took a cold one to wake up. Still finding this whole thing very odd, Mark wanted to stay alert when he would be talking to Fred.
“Ah good! You’ve made it. How you feeling?”
“Never mind that, Chief, what’s going on here?”
“The short answer is you’re staying at the Hyatt and put Muhammad Sadir under surveillance.”
“Sadir? What would he be doing here? What about Samuel? Where is he?”
“He’ll come in his own good time, don’t worry about him.”
“Come on, Chief, what’s happening? Has the world turned upside down while I was in that frigging plane?”
“Language, boy! I’ve told you before, none of the ‘F’ words with me, okay?”
“Okay, Chief, I’m sorry. Just tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s a long story, Mark, and I don’t have time right now. But I’ll tell you this; Samuel is a friend of Talya. He’s known her almost since the first day she was in Australia.”
Mark was dumfounded. “If that’s true, why would he be here? Wouldn’t he want to be as far as he could from this place?”
“No, Mark, not quite. See, we’ve finally come up with an answer as to who was behind the sale of faulty weapons to Israel. And Sadir appears to be that person.”
“And Samuel is after him now…?”
“Right.”
“But what about him killing Slimane if Mossad knew he wasn’t the traitor?”
“Because Mossad didn’t know—or Sadir managed to convince the powers-that-be he was a traitor to Israel. When we get to talk to Samuel, we’ll know better.”
“And I gather that’s why it was so easy for Sadir or Samuel to point the finger at Prince Abdullah,” Mark suggested.
“Yes, although, that’s not as clear-cut as you’d think, because there was a lot more involved in that affair than sending faulty armaments to Israel.” Fred paused. “Anyway, right now, we’ve got to worry about Sadir. If he came to Canada, it’s for a reason, and we want to know what that is. We’re hoping it’s not to tickle a terrorist cell along the West Coast.”
“Am I going to work alone on this one?” Mark asked somewhat anxiously. He couldn’t see himself tackling a terrorist cell.
“No, you’re not. We’ve been asked for you to work with Jack Lypsick.”
“Who’s Jack Lypsick?”
“The shrewdest agent in the CIA. He’s dealt with terrorists even before it became a household word.”
“What does he look like?”
“Get yourself a new cell phone and I’ll send you his photo along with that of Sadir as soon as you’re on line.”
“What about Talya? How is she doing? Does she know about all this?”
Mark heard the chief chuckle. “One question at the time, boy.”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Okay. She is fine. Actually I phoned James Flaubert this morning to let him know you were back in town and to get the low down on her condition, since Khalid came here, in Ottawa, you remember?”
“Yes, and then?”
“Well, he told me that she’ll be staying on Bowen Island off the Vancouver coast for a while. There is a physiotherapist with her and if the surgeons agree, she might have an operation on her spine and she might recover the use of her legs after that.”
“Wow, that’s great. But why staying on Bowen?”
“Because that physio guy is staying at the same B&B and there’s no hassle to have their physio sessions, when they’d live at the same place.”
“What does the doctor think about it, or do you know?”
“Apparently, he’s all for it. It’s the best way for her to regain strength in her legs for when she’ll walk again.”
“Okay... Is Sadir in town already?”
“Yes—according to the report I got this morning. Anyway, Lypsick will give you the intel you’ll need when you show up tomorrow morning for breakfast at the restaurant of the hotel…”
“What, or who am I supposed to be this time then?”
“A vacationing billionaire. You’re waiting for Prince Khalid…”
Mark nearly dropped the phone. “Say what?”
“You heard me.”
“What is he gonna do here? I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chief.”
“Let Lypsick explain why, Mark.” Fred paused, and since he heard no reaction come out of Mark, he went on, “Okay…, any more questions?”
“No, no, Chief, I don’t think so. I just think Khalid shouldn’t be here…”
“And I think you’ll change your mind once you heard Lypsick... Okay, I’ve got to get some work done... Anything else?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’ll call you as soon as I’ve got the cell.”
“Good.”
“Thanks, Chief.”